Department of State

Critics of the Keystone XL pipeline say they’re still optimistic President Barack Obama will block TransCanada Corp.’s planned $5.3 billion link between the oil sands in Alberta and refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of TransCanada's application to the U.S. State Department for the 1,700-mile pipeline from Alberta to Texas known as the Keystone pipeline, the most famous pipeline in America even though it has not been built.

A decision on whether to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline may slip into next year, giving opponents time to marshal efforts against it while offering President Barack Obama a chance to wring concessions from Canada.

Building the Keystone XL pipeline would lead to more manmade light and noise in sparsely populated regions, which may harm natural resources, wildlife and visitors to national parks, the U.S. Interior Department said.

In a high stakes game of chicken between the renewable fuel industry, the refining industry and the Environmental Protection Agency, it appear that the EPA just made a turn before hitting the brick blendwall.